


Nightmares

by actualgrantaire



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan, The Trials of Apollo - Rick Riordan
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Nightmares, anyone who thinks differently can fight me, will solace has nightmares dammit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-04
Updated: 2017-04-04
Packaged: 2018-10-14 22:27:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,457
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10545374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/actualgrantaire/pseuds/actualgrantaire
Summary: Everyone assumes that Will is this bright and cheerful person who doesn’t have any problems. Little do they know that he has terrible nightmares like every other demigod.





	

**Author's Note:**

> No one ever gives Will nightmares. It's always only Nico and Will has dealt with some shit, okay, so have some hurt/comfort where they BOTH have nightmares. 
> 
> For [ylakerrananimehomo](http://ylakerrananimehomo.tumblr.com) on tumblr as part of the pjo discord valentine’s exchange. 
> 
> This is my first fic on ao3 but it's not the first fic I've written. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and any feedback is very appreciated since I don't get much of it when I post my writing on tumblr.

Bright, cheerful, “literal sunshine.” All of these words were used to describe Will Solace, and all of them fit. However, most people did not associate “literal sunshine” with “terrifying nightmares” so no one ever realized that Will had terrifying nightmares like every other demigod. No one in his cabin, or otherwise, had thought to ask him what was wrong if he showed up to the infirmary with dark circles around his eyes from a night of unease. Will liked to think that this was because they were a lot less noticeable to everyone but himself, and he’d grown accustomed to ignoring the part of him that was bothered by this. His cheerful personality wasn’t an act, but sometimes, when he’d had a particularly rough night, he felt like he had to put on an act so he didn’t disappoint or worry people. He didn’t want people to worry about him, that was for sure.

There was one nightmare in particular that seemed to haunt him no matter what. It was always the same. The Titans were closing in on Mount Olympus, and his siblings were dying and he couldn’t save them. Not only could he not save his siblings, but he couldn’t save anyone. Silena Beauregard was dying, and everyone around him was begging for him to save her. 

  
_You have to save her, Will, you’re our best healer._   
  


Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t reverse the drakon poison, and everyone blamed him for her death. 

  
_You didn’t save her because she was a spy! She died a hero, Will! She did more than you’ve done for us! People are out there risking their lives and you can’t even save them! You’re useless!_

_  
_This was about the time he woke up in a cold sweat, the words “you’re useless” stuck in the back of his mind while he tended to minor cuts and bruises in the infirmary and pretended that everything was fine.

  
Enter Nico di Angelo, the demigod who had basically saved everyone in the Battle of Manhattan with his army of skeletons. Will had somehow convinced him to stay at Camp Half Blood, and eventually gained enough courage to ask him on a date. Nico had said yes, surprisingly, and their relationship grew from there. The nightmares all but disappeared and he truly became “literal sunshine.” 

  
While it was true that two campers of different genders were not allowed to spend the night in a cabin other than their own, no such rule was in place for campers of the same gender and Will and Nico had finally grown comfortable enough with each other to exploit that loophole. Nico had his own cabin, after all, which made the decision even easier. So after the campfire, and a promise from Kayla that the Apollo cabin wouldn’t burn down in his absence, Will simply walked with Nico back to his cabin nonchalantly. Either no one noticed, or they pretended not to notice. 

  
“I’ve really been a terrible influence on you if you’re willing to leave your cabin in favor of spending the night with me. I mean you’re _head counselor_ ,” Nico teased with a sly smirk on his face.

  
“Oh shut up. You know I talked to Kayla. It’s not like I’ve abandoned them for my boyfriend—sorry, my _significant annoyance_ ,” Will replied with a smirk of his own.

    
“That was _one time_ —“ 

  
“And I’m never letting you forget about it.”

    
Nico simply rolled his eyes, and opened the door to his cabin with a sigh. 

  
“You know, I’ve been in your cabin before, but the death-themed décor really stands out at night,” Will observed as he walked into the cabin. He walked over to one of the curtains and held it up. “I mean, it’s just so _drab_.”   

  
Nico laughed, and walked over to Will. “Gods, don’t you think complaining about the décor is a little _gay_?” It had taken some time, but Nico was now in a place where he could comfortably joke about his sexuality. After he’d said this, he stepped closer to Will until their lips were only inches apart. “ _So_ gay,” he added before finally closing that gap with a brief kiss. 

  
Will smiled into the kiss, and sighed when they parted. “Oh, I’m sorry. I forgot to add no homo at the end.” Will took Nico’s hand and squeezed it. “Would you like to leave your curtains in favor of your bed— _no homo_.” 

  
Nico rolled his eyes again, and pulled Will over to his bunk. There wasn’t much to it, but some Mythomagic cards and figurines had ended up under his bed. He took off the skull ring he always wore and set it on the nightstand before he collapsed onto the bed, pulling Will down on top of him. “You’re a dork,” he murmured, looking up at Will with another teasing smirk. 

  
“Says the guy with Mythomagic under his bed.” 

  
“ _Shut up._ ” 

  
“Make me.”

  
Their lips were inches apart again, so that wasn’t hard to do. Nico pulled Will down into a kiss that grew more passionate as time progressed. They’d decided that they weren’t quite ready for anything further at the current moment, although Nico did take off his leather jacket and toss it on the ground at one point.   
They stayed like that—kissing with the occasional break to tease each other—for most of the night until they shifted to a more comfortable position for sleeping. 

  
“Why am I the small spoon?” 

  
“Because you’re smaller, Nico. And I don’t want you to fall off the bed. You could break your arm or—“ 

  
“Please don’t list all of the potential injures I could get. I get it. Shut up and hold me so we can get some sleep.” 

  
Will did just that. It was easier to fall asleep with Nico in his arms. Everything was perfect. That is, until his reoccurring nightmare changed. Instead of Silena Beauregard, Nico di Angelo was dying in his arms.

  
_Nico, please, stay with me. I love you, you can’t—_

  
He was a sobbing wreck, of course he couldn’t save Nico. Everyone around him shouted about how useless he was, that part didn’t change. Neither did the fact that he woke up in a cold sweat shortly after hearing the words. What _was_ different was that Nico was there when he woke up. 

  
“Nightmares?” Nico asked in a quiet, worried tone. 

  
“Yeah…” Will trailed off, and was quiet for a moment before he quietly asked “How’d you know?” 

  
“I know a nightmare when I see one. I have plenty. About Bianca’s death, about being trapped in a jar with only pomegranate seeds, about Tartarus…” Nico shook his head as if to rid himself of the thoughts of that literal god-forsaken place. “Do you want to talk about it? I understand if you don’t. It’s hard.” 

  
Will inhaled deeply, and explained everything. How he couldn’t save his siblings that had died and ended up as head counselor because of it, and how he couldn’t save Silena. “I couldn’t save you. I couldn’t save anyone. I’m useless,” he said in closing. 

  
“You aren’t useless.” Nico’s tone was sincere, and he lifted Will’s chin so that their eyes met. “Will Solace you will never be useless. I’d argue that you’re the most useful person at this camp. The world will always need healers, and even the best healers can’t save everyone. No one blames you. And besides that, you’ve already saved me, you’re worth more to me—“ Nico cut himself off, afraid of saying too much. 

  
“What?” Will asked, his tone inquiring and encouraging.  

  
“You just…you mean a lot to me,” Nico mumbled, his eyes finally shifting down.

    
Will smiled, and brought Nico’s face up to meet his in a brief kiss. “You mean a lot to me too. And thank you. Honestly. It was nice to be able to open up about my nightmares to someone…” 

  
Nico blushed faintly upon hearing that the affection was returned. “You’re welcome. You can talk to me about them anytime, you know. I’ll always listen. I don’t expect you to be happy all the time. How you’re happy _most_ of the time baffles me.”

  
“It’s not that hard when you’ve got a great boyfriend,” Will replied with a grin.

    
Nico groaned softly. “You are _such_ a dork. I’m taking away your big spoon privileges for being such a dork.” 

  
Will complied, and didn’t complain as he felt Nico’s arms around him. He fell asleep again, and this time the nightmares didn’t come back. Perhaps the solution was finally being able to talk about them, and being reminded that he didn’t need to be happy all the time. Or perhaps the solution was simply being the little spoon.   



End file.
